Hmmm – both something I’ll try out.

Post is about 18months old and not been serviced yet.

Cheers, will check a few of these out. I’ve seen a few doblos out and about.

Cheers all. Appreciate the comments.

One question that comes up from some of the comments is – How do you know they have taken them for an hours walk that is decent and stimulating for the dog?

My wife’s had similar but the other way round – gone from PAYE to self employed. Somehow we have a calculation on how much tax she didn’t pay the previous tax year that she has been paying for 14 months @ £58 per month. But for the same year she’s got a penalty for not submitting a return – but the question HMRC can’t answer is how come they know how much she owes but they apparently haven’t had the return!!??!! Work that one out… Appeal coming soon

Then to make matters worse, for this tax year our accountant has done her SA return and it says she now is owed in this tax year about the same as she owed HMRC in the previous tax year so it balances out. But the 14 months @ £58 they can’t see it on their systems for some reason but acknowledge it although they can’t get to it.

It was only me questioning it that has brought it to light and has taken about 4 months. So she should be getting a rebate of about £800. Although my tax return has just been done and I owe just over a grand… the question is “Do I trust it??”

The bike has now gone, went about 10pm last night.

To answer the question about why it bothered us, it was blocking thw pavement and people going past our house with buggies couldn’t easily get past (narrow pavement of about a metre and a raised kerb on the road side) as it looked like we had sanctioned that damn fool putting it there.

Yep, railings belong to me / the house

I did release the Qr on the front wheel last Monday but a pang of guilt made me put it back to how it was.

The amount of bike theft round here I’m truly surprised its not been nicked yet

Lol, my wife has just said,totally unprompted, that if the bike isnt gone by Sunday night she’s selling it.

Seems I’m not the only one who’s peed off by it

Dobiejessmo, Yep, still there.

Would talk to the neighbour but they’ve gone away for Christmas. Won’t see them now until January

Shit, I thought this was a forum for upper middle class **** who had swapped golf for mountain biking. Sorry – posted it in the wrong place ;)

Trail rat – no you don’t. If you knew where we live you’ll understand why chaining a bike to our railing is a little weird

I’ve been tempted to cut the frame and leave the lock intact

Dezb – I’ve done it a number of time and live it. I see it as a break fron the shite I’m doing now and a bit of punctuation in life. Not sure how it will turn out but saying that my wife of 21 years was supposed to be a one night stand :)

Tell me about it, the dogs enjoymwnt of the experience has got to come first but the rule of take what you brung has to apply. Training the dogs to picnk their shit up will be interesting

Myti – all over that already. We do day, n8ght, weekend and holidat boarding already.along with training for difficult dogs and pack socialisation for dogs which don’t normally like Packs. We are also focusing on breed specific walks too

Alex – I agree on it not being about the money.

I used to want to work to get credit, buy a house, have some holidays and do stuff. But now I’ve got kids, a great wife, we have a house we’ll be in for a long while and we’re tied down by the kids and their education. It’s become about actually making the most of the kids, stuff and life generally. One frustration I have is as I’m away 2-3 nights a week I haven’t much of a social life and it’s something I want to change.

Plus money has become secondary as following paying back the money from my wife’s first business we’ve learnt to live and enjoy things without the big holidays or spending cash on stuff we don’t need (except bike related items of course).

I’m getting really excited about it now…

However, I’m going to hold on for a few more months to get everything set in motion to make the transition as successful as possible. One key aim is to get some savings in place as running capital for the first 6-12 months.

Yeah, the thought of the finances not going as planned, and we’ve been conservative, is a worry

Good to hear.

It’s dog walking – massive change but I love the outdoors and dogs. My wife is doing well since she started two years ago but she only has a certain reach geographically and is turning away work as she can’t cover it. So I’m going to step in to do the bits she can’t do and help to expand. We think we can cover the bills.

The best thing is she already has her name known locally, although this could be improved on as most of the work is coming through word of mouth.

Hadn’t thought of the free advice we might be able to get so will look into it.

Badnewz – I don’t think I’m built for corporate life either, although I’ve done well so far. I just can’t be arsed with the politics and bullshit. I can see loads of opportunities and problems with the business but the crap internally makes it impossible to achieve/improve anything. People seem to be in-love with the company rather than their customers and the customers suffer while the business slowly dies. Sounds dramatic but had 2.5 years of frustration and got to the point of too many bruises from banging my head against the wall.

In terms of costs, I am actually excited about the adventure of learning to live on less money and teaching the kids to survive with what you have. It’ll be tough but some of the best memories and experience are drawn from challenge.

I suppose my worry is what have I not considered, such as some hidden costs, tax burdens and the impact of not having credit readily available.

So the situation is I’ve been in sales for a financial services company for sometime as a salesman, consultant and a team manager. Quite a specialist area and home based covering the whole of the UK, loads of pressure but not much reward. I’m looking for a new job anyway as I’m disillusioned with the company and their values.

How I look at it is currently I’m time poor (working mostly 10-12 hour days) and due to various factors – mostly paying debt off from a previous failed business attempt by my wife – I’m disposable income poor too and have been for a number of years.

However financially things have turned a corner, my wife has started a business (dog walking) which is growing rapidly and our levels of debts have reduced massively to a point where at a stretch we could make it work financially.

My thoughts are we work well together and even if I jump in and do it for 12 months it’ll be a great break to try something different. If it works out great, if not I’ll just dive back into a proper job. Also, there is a chance of doing some consulting here and there to top up my wages.

Also, I’ve got two kids school age and I’m realising they are getting older and spending time with them is important.

I’ve not met Amy. Yet.

Badnewz thats badnewz

Yeah, really miss just getting out for an hour or so (although I may have sneaked a gentle ride in here and there)

This is the pump

Misjudged a drop went over the bars, flew backwards through the air and hit a tree across my back. Pump in my backpack dug into my back and did the damage.

The first bit of advice I got was keep active and mobile, then 4 weeks later I get told take it easy and now I’m being told no strenuous exercise. Not sure if these are the same or different

I’ve been out for a few rides already and not had any real major issues, in fact I have more problems from being at work at the office.

The main problem I have is sleeping at night an it’s not from where the fractures are but a different part of my back.

I’m thinking if I keep my wheels on smooth trails, dont move around on the bike and keep it to under an hour is there an issue?

I stopped taking pain killers a week after it happened so I could know my limits

Sui – I can only read your first line and totally agree

Thats the thing, I haven’t got a great deal of pain. And its bone dry on the trails ;)

What did I fracture… The left transverse process on T12 to L4

Man up Derek!

I’ve not got a gloss finish so wondering if it would stick OK and whether it would look wierd as it would turn it into a gloss finish.

Cheers – all done :)

Morecash- give it another go, I used to be the same and if anything the chattering mind shows you could do with it.

Someone once told me that meditation is effectively training the mind to focus on one thing at a time – distractions either internal or external just train the mind to do the opposite which lead to all sorts of challenges – mine was waking up loads in the night and not sleeping well.

In terms of the noise in the house – good headphones did the job.

Ive got an annual membership and has been excellent

I had to buy the service kit to get the bushes

Having hit a tree at speed I think any protection is worthwhile. I know I was lucky having a pack on which happened to have my elbow pads in – I dread to think how it would have been otherwise

Not sure that would have stopped me fracturing 5 vertebrae but tempted to give it a go – what size? 9 or 12inch? ;)

Interesting – I didn’t know if the inserts could be bought separately. What size is it?

One of the questions on my mind is whats the better material – D3O or the eps foam evoc use? I’m assuming the tests show they both are up to a standard but in the real world which would protect you more?

True – although I’m surprised how well I bounce for someone in their 40s ;)

Been out for a gentle walk on the local hill this morning (Doctor told me to keep mobile as much as possible) – interesting to see the trails and see how I felt. I think I’ll be back but with a few scars which I’ll massage out over time.

Had a crazy dream/nightmare last night which was very disturbing and I can only put down to where my heads at currently.

Cheers for sharing your thoughts and experiences – been a great help.

Strava is something I’ve been thinking about being the root of some issues along with competitive nature of those I ride with. Pleased I get down most descents in the top 10-20% of riders but it pushes me to the edge too often and I think riding it smoother might be better in the long run especially on trails where there is higher risk or ones I dont know as well ( which is where I came off)

What spine protection backpacks is everyone wearing?